Questions linger after former trooper shoots Utica man’s dog

One week after his dog, Shadow, was shot and killed by a retired state trooper at a park, a new German Shepherd donated by the Stevens-Swan Humane Society has helped Bernard Sperfeld cope with the tragic loss.

One week after his dog, Shadow, was shot and killed by a retired state trooper at a park, a new German Shepherd donated by the Stevens-Swan Humane Society has helped Bernard Sperfeld cope with the tragic loss.

“We will bond and she will be my new partner, so all my love and my big heart will go to her now,” Sperfeld said of Heidi, who has already taken to cuddling up with Sperfeld just hours after the new dog was brought home Wednesday afternoon.

But Sperfeld still gets choked up as he recalls the fate of Shadow, who was shot three times by retired Trooper Anthony Randazzo at the Trenton Greenbelt trails shortly after 7 p.m. Aug. 24.

Sperfeld, 67, of Utica, believes Shadow was intentionally killed by Randazzo in retaliation for a heated argument that Sperfeld said he had with a woman at the trails the night before. “She said, ‘I’ve got connections. I’ll take care of your dog and I’ll take care of you,’ then the next day my dog was dead,” Sperfeld said.

Randazzo has not been charged at this time, and state police officials said it could be some time before investigators and prosecutors with the Oneida County District Attorney’s Office can determine what really happened.

“There’s some disagreement over how close the dog was to the shooter, and that’s why we’re going to be sitting down with the DA to see if a law has been broken here,” state police Troop D Capt. Frank Coots said. “We have to determine if (Randazzo) was defending himself against a potentially dangerous dog or not, and it’s not going to be simple.”

Sperfeld said he was walking toward his vehicle with Shadow on a leash when another car pulled up in the parking lot. Once Sperfeld let Shadow loose, he said Randazzo got out of his vehicle and was carrying a pistol in his hand, according to Sperfeld’s police complaint.

Shadow then ran toward Randazzo, Sperfeld said, and the dog was about 30 feet away when Randazzo shot it once in the chest. After the dog fell, Randazzo then stood over the dog and fired several more times, Sperfeld said.

“My dog never bit anyone, and he went up to people and greeted them, then if he liked the people he’d put his paws up and give a little lick,” Sperfeld said. “I was crying, ‘Shadow! Shadow!’ and the man said, ‘Step aside, I’ll finish him off.’”

Randazzo instead called a local veterinarian clinic and helped carry Shadow to Sperfeld’s car. The dog was euthanized later that night.

Randazzo’s version of events, however, is far more different, his attorney Les Lewis said.

“He does have a permit to carry a pistol and the dog was charging him at full speed, there’s no question that happened,” Lewis said of Randazzo. “So he shot the dog to defend himself.”

Page 2 of 2 - Sperfeld has been ticketed twice in the past in 2002 for not having a different dog on a leash in Utica. Sperfeld pleaded guilty to both violations and paid a total of $75 in fines, police said.

Now, Sperfeld said he still fears for his own life when he returns to the park where the dog was killed, so he wants Randazzo’s gun taken from him and an order of protection put in place. But most importantly, Sperfeld said he wants justice and hopes police won’t try to “sweep this under the rug.”

Coots offered reassurance in response, saying, “Certainly we’re not going to sacrifice the reputation of our agency over anyone, no matter if they’re a former or current member of the state police.”